Kali Escrima (weapons based fighting) offered at York Muay Thai every Sunday

Learn to add weapons to your arsenal with Kali Escrima! It is the martial art of the Philippines that focuses on weapons based fighting, learn to wield and defend from sticks, knives, and other bladed weapons!

Sundays from 11:30-12:30pm

Join us at our next YMT social; BUBBLE SOCCER!

We are going Sunday January 24, 2016. Please sign up at the front desk and keep an eye out on our Facebook page for an event as well. Cost is approx. $22, all are welcome!

Sunday, December 20, 2015

Here are your York Muay Thai amateur athlete highlights of 2015!Many of the people in this video were first time fighters who decided to step up and test themselves. There were wins, losses, demonstrations of heart and skill...The experiences have only made us better.

The beginning of teep month has meant revisiting the technique from the start, and slowly working our way up to combinations, timing and strategy. It's also meant a great way to start using the new Kimurawear belly pads and Fairtex Thai pads we just got in!

Don't forget, you can always come early or stay after class to do a little pads practice with a friend. Reviewing what you learned in class or just focusing on the techniques you feel least comfortable with will go a long way.

Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Okay, so kind of a tough one to watch this month but well worth it. It is relatively short, coming in at a little less than an hour. That being said, it is an incredibly engaging, at times heart-wrenching look at the realities of life for women simply looking to live their lives in an oppressive state. Like last month's choice, you will feel soft after watching this documentary, however for a completely different reason.

The Boxing Girls of Kabul (2012)

"It was the first time I had seen a ring, and there I was climbing into it."

"The other boxers aren't sad, they have no sorrows. No one threatens them. They are very free."

The Boxing Girls of Kabul is an absorbing look at the lives and training of the Afghanistan's Womens' National Boxing Team. It focuses on two sisters, Shabnam and Sadaf Rahimi, as well as their close friend Shahla Sikandary as they train and prepare themselves for amateur boxing competition. Their head coach is a man named Sabir, a progressive minded man who had Olympic aspirations before the Soviet war in the late 1970s. They train at the Olympic Stadium in Kabul, an ominous stadium that was used for public executions by the Taliban when they were in control of the country, less than 20 years ago. Although the Taliban no longer rules, they are still present in the country in the form of a hidden insurgency and remain a serious threat and source of fear. They attempt to compete at an international level, however they find
themselves seriously outmatched by better funded and trained teams. Upon
their return home, the athletes and trainers are subjected to death
threats, not only themselves but their families as well.

The determination and will of the fighters in The Boxing Girls of Kabul are a wonder to behold. They are drawing upon a very limited talent pool. They have no ring. They have very little equipment and time to train. There is no amateur boxing circuit in their country, so there is no entry level competition, meaning they are put in deep at the highest level of amateur boxing right way. They live in constant fear that those less progressive could attack or even kill them and their families. A brother of one of the girls explains that he doesn't like that she boxes because he fears that, should the Taliban take control once again, they will kill her and everybody in their family. Another of the girls is told by a man who recognized them from the news that he
would kidnap her if he ever saw her alone on the street. The head coach
believes that a man nearly shot him on the street because he trains
girls to box.

Yet despite all this, they don't stop.

Although The Boxing Girls of Kabul is only 52 minutes long, it stayed with me for a long time after watching it. It is multi-dimensional in its effect. It had me considering how privileged I am to be able to train and fight at my leisure (next time you complain about no showers at the gym, think of this movie). It gave me a sobering look to everyday life in a country where women were not even allowed to go outside until a few years ago, full of instability and unrest. It showed me will, resolve, and determination to be free at their purist. And finally, it had me asking myself this complex question: Would I still train and compete in my chosen hobby if it meant that my family would receive death threats?